


You're my king and I'm your lionheart

by SomniumAvis



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, POV Alternating, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:20:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25751980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomniumAvis/pseuds/SomniumAvis
Summary: Trying to defend the universe is difficult. Lance and Keith are there for each other, every step of the way.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 57





	You're my king and I'm your lionheart

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing these characters, so sorry if they're OOC. This is also my first time writing romance like this, so sorry if it doesn't flow. 
> 
> Title and lyrics are from "King and Lionheart" by Of Monsters and Men.

Neither of them knows when it starts. They can only guess. 

* * *

_Taking over this town, they should worry_

_But these problems aside I think I taught you well_

* * *

For Lance, it starts at the Garrison. It starts with him managing to pick out the top fighter pilot, Keith, from among the crowds of students there. He’s the one Lance is always chasing after as he tries to improve, trying to get as good at flying as he is.Yet, Keith seems so removed from his surroundings, and it feels like the harder Lance tries to chase, the further he slips away. The distance stretches out between them, vast and unmeasurable. 

* * *

For Keith, it starts when a trio of Garrison students he half-recognizes crash into the building Shiro’s being held in. Either way, he can’t afford to pay them any attention, not when his brother needs him like this. Of course, they all end up light years away from Earth together and end up getting roped into defending the universe as a team. 

* * *

_That we won’t run, and we won’t run, and we won’t run_

* * *

“Hey, we do make a good team,” Lance mutters to Keith as he helps him up from where he’s collapsed next to the raised platform, and Keith smiles back at him. That’s when he first thinks that maybe, he can put aside this one-sided rivalry. 

Ever since the Garrison (even though Keith doesn’t remember him from then), Lance has always thought of Keith as someone to one-up, as someone to beat. But they’re supposed to be a team, aren’t they? 

And they’re just proved that they make better allies than enemies. 

* * *

_And in the winter night sky, the ships are sailing_

_Looking down on these bright blue city lights_

* * *

Nighttime in the castle is strange. There’s always light, and while it’s dimmed, the castle is still quite well-lit. It feels off, for it to be so bright during a time meant to be dark. It’s not helped by the fact that they’re in outer space, so there is no rising or setting of the sun. 

It doesn’t matter that much, anyway. Keith can’t sleep most nights. He spends many of his nights awake, training or reading or doing whatever that there is to be done. 

Right now, however, he’s headed to the kitchen, hoping to get some water. 

The light in the kitchen is on, and Keith frowns at it. It’s probably just one of the other Paladins, unable to sleep after a rough day of fighting. 

He cautiously steps in, to see Lance sitting at the kitchen counter. He has his eyes trained on the table in front of him, and he’s sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest and his jacket’s hood pulled down over his head, a cup of something in front of him. Keith swallows. Lance looks so quiet and so vulnerable, a stark contrast to the bright, cheerful Paladin filled with jokes and bad pick-up lines, forcing himself in the way of everyone on board the ship. 

“Lance,” Keith calls quietly, and he looks up. 

He expects a jab, a snarky retort, but it doesn’t come. “Keith,” Lance says instead, and there’s no joking, no aggressiveness in his voice. Although, Lance has been somewhat calmer around him since Sendak’s attack on the castle. Less hostile towards him. “What are you doing up?” 

“Couldn’t sleep,” he replies, pulling up a chair to sit across from Lance. “You?” 

“Same thing, I guess,” Lance says, then falls silent again. A few moments pass in quiet, before he says, “Hey, you want something to drink? They have this weird Altean drink on board. It’s kinda like tea.” 

“Sure,” Keith answers, because why not? As Lance uncurls from his position in the chair and gets up to rummage in the cupboards for another cup and more of the drink, he adds, “I never took you for a tea person, though.” 

“I’m not. It’s just that tea helps calm me down when I can’t sleep.” 

A few more minutes pass in silence, with the only sound being that of water boiling and being poured into a cup. “Here you go,” Lance finally says, setting the steaming cup in front of Keith. 

Lance sits back down in front of Keith, and while he doesn’t take up the position he was formerly in, he still sits hunched in his chair, making him look smaller than he is. The hood casts soft shadows across his face. 

This nighttime meeting is quiet and subdued, the very opposite of how they are with each other in the daytime, loud and rambunctious and competitive. In a way. Lance has stopped calling Keith his “rival” sometime after launching off Arus, about what feels like a few weeks ago. And Keith finds that he really doesn’t mind. 

“What do you usually do when you can’t sleep?” Lance asks quietly, and Keith jumps, not expecting him to talk, and certainly not expecting him to ask such a casual question. His surprise must show on his face, because Lance raises his hands in the air and adds, “Hey, I’m just curious. You’re awake and drinking tea in the kitchen with me, and I feel awkward not talking and just sitting in silence.” 

“Whatever there is to do,” he answers. “Usually, I just train. But I felt tired tonight, so I decided not to. What about you?” 

“Eh, not much. I didn’t even have problems sleeping until after we launched off into space,” Lance says. 

“You want to talk about it?” Keith surprises even himself by asking. 

“Not really.” Lance looks away. 

They fall silent again, and Keith raises his cup to his mouth to take a sip of his Altean tea. It’s cooled down, but it’s still hot. It doesn’t taste like Earth tea, sweetish and heavy instead of mild and light, but he doesn’t know what he expected. 

“What do you miss about Earth?” Keith finds himself asking. It’s stupid that he’s asking this, that he's trying to make small talk, but he needs something to distract himself from both how tired he is and just how drained Lance looks, which is so different than how he normally acts around the others. 

“I miss the rain,” he replies. “And a lot of other things.” 

“What do you miss most?” 

“My family.” 

Well, that’s to be expected. “Tell me about them,” Keith prompts. 

Lance brightens, and he spends the next hour or so telling him about each of the members of his large family. Keith brings up some facts about himself in return, and they end up swapping words and stories, long, long into the night. 

Keith doesn’t know for how long they talk. 

But he knows that they both somehow end up falling asleep at the kitchen table, and Shiro has to wake them both up at breakfast the next morning. His face is pressed against the hard, uncomfortable table surface and his back aches from falling asleep in such an awkward position. 

He also knows that he’s slept better than he ever can remember since leaving Earth. 

* * *

It’s late. It’s not too late that he’ll hate himself the next morning, but still pretty late. Lance doesn’t know where he picked up the habit of working in the training room in his free time, but here he is. Well, he supposes he picked it up from Keith. 

He also doesn’t want to go to bed yet. He doesn’t want to lie awake for hours, tired but afraid of what will come alive in his head when he sleeps. He doesn’t want the nightmares to resurface, waking him with fear and terror writhing in his chest, a scream locked in his throat, and his heart beating so fast that it chokes him. He doesn’t want to see the terrified faces of his family back on Earth and his teammates - his newfound space family - as they burn around him. 

He pivots again, firing his bayard at the targets that appear. After he manages to shoot almost a dozen targets in a row without stopping, he relaxes his hold on his rifle and sighs out in exhaustion. 

“Didn’t think I’d find you here,” a voice says, and Lance whips around to see Keith standing in the doorway of the training room. 

“What is it to you, anyway?” Lances asks. 

“Nothing.” Keith walks into the room, his bayard held in one hand. He turns his head and glances at the targets at the far side in the room, and says, “Your shooting is getting pretty good.” 

“I know.” 

“But I think your hand-to-hand could use a little work,” he says, and he sets his bayard on the floor. “Spar with me?” 

“Um. Why?” 

Keith pauses, then says, “Because I think you’ll learn from this. And because I also want someone to spar with. What, are you scared?” 

Lance may not think of them as “rivals” anymore, but what Keith just said still brings out his competitive streak. “Of course not!” 

Keith ends up winning every single match that they hold. But Lance would say that he’s learned more from sparring with him than from the group training they hold in the day. 

“You done yet?” Keith says between his breaths coming in harsh pants. 

Lance manages only an incoherent groan from where he’s lying collapsed on the floor. Training with Keith is almost as tough as training with Allura, and as much as he wants to send a snappish reply, every inch of him hurts. 

“Okay, I think we’ll call that a night.” 

Keith moves to collect his bayard, and Lance drags himself up. And because he can actually tell when people give him valuable advice, he mutters, “Thanks for teaching me.” 

“You’re welcome,” Keith replies, hesitantly. 

“Why, though? Why did you offer to teach me in the first place?” 

He hesitates again, before saying, “Because your hand-to-hand is terrible, and I don’t want you to die out in the field.” 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” 

When Lance heads back to his room that night, he finds that it doesn’t take that long for him to fall asleep. And when he does sleep, the nightmares stay away for once. 

* * *

_And they won’t wait, and they won’t wait, and they won’t wait_

_We’re here to stay, we’re here to stay, we’re here to stay_

* * *

Today’s group training is focused on target and shooting practice. To level the playing field, all Paladins are lined side-by-side on one side of the training room, all using the same standard Altean rifles to shoot at the targets lined up at the far side of the wall. 

Keith growls lowly in his throat as he pulls the trigger of his rifle several times in rapid succession, and all of his shots miss the target he’s aiming for. 

“You know, statistically speaking, you should’ve hit the target at least once by now, even by accident,” Lance mutters from beside him, smirking slightly. 

“Shut up. What do you know about statistics, anyway?” 

A few more minutes pass, in which Keith manages to land exactly zero shots on his target. Lance sighs beside him, and Keith turns, expecting a snide remark. He doesn’t expect Lance to move to stand right next to him and lift his rifle to his shoulder, saying, “Alright. I can’t stand this anymore. Look, dumbass, this is how it’s done.” 

If there’s one thing Keith will admit about Lance, it’s that he’s a good shot, even if he isn’t the best teacher. But under his instruction, Keith manages to fire his next shot dead center into the target. 

* * *

_Howling ghost they reappear_

_In mountains that are stacked with fear_

* * *

Their nighttime tea sessions for when they can’t sleep aren’t a common occurrence, but they do happen occasionally. Lance heads for the kitchen some nights when he can’t sleep due to nightmares, but he doesn’t always see Keith there. But they’ve had a few late nights together, most of which ended up with them both falling asleep at the kitchen table. 

Tonight, the nightmares are particularly gory. Lance wakes with his throat feeling like it’s being shredded as he screams himself awake. Not wanting to stay in his darkened room with only its bare walls for company, he shakily coughs to clear his throat, wipes the tears off his face as well as he can, gets dressed, and heads for the kitchen. 

However, the thing he wants most at the moment is to see his teammates, and make sure they’re okay. It’s irrational, and he knows that it was just a bad dream, but he still can’t get the images of blood and burns and corpses out of his head. But still, he tells himself that it wasn’t real, and his teammates are still alive and probably won’t take kindly to him intruding on their sleep. 

Thankfully, the castle hallways are lit. There are less shadows, less hidden corners for monsters to jump out of, less darkened areas for him to see his dead teammates’ faces in. 

He shakes his head. He’s being foolish. He spends most of his days piloting a war machine and trying to fight off an evil alien empire, he shouldn’t be afraid of something his brain conjures up. 

In the kitchen, Lance takes out the kettle, which is similar to an Earth kettle, that they got on an alien planet where they were looking for supplies. He goes through the familiar motions of filling it with water, setting it on the stove to boil, and dropping a packet of tea into an empty cup. Once the water is boiled, he fills the cup, and lets the tea steep while he brings it to the table and sits down at it. 

The tea is still too hot to drink, so Lance waits and pulls his jacket tighter around him. The images from the nightmare flash through his head, his fellow Paladins lying dead around him, joined even by Allura and Coran, their lifeless eyes trained on him. 

He shakes his head to clear the images away, and tries to still the involuntary trembling in his limbs. 

He doesn’t know how long he sits there, but Keith enters the kitchen a while later. Lance looks up, and takes in his appearance. Keith looks a little tired, but he looks just fine, a far cry from the bloodstained corpse lying in front of him in his nightmare. 

When Keith asks for some tea, Lance stands up to fetch the kettle from the stove. The water in it has cooled somewhat, but it’s still hot enough to boil some tea. 

Lance sets a cup on the table and drops in a packet of tea, and lifts the kettle to pour water into the cup. As he tips the kettle, his eyes can’t help but flicker up to Keith, who’s waiting patiently for him. 

_And Keith is covered in blood, so much blood, with his eyes empty and accusing, as if telling him why, why weren’t you good enough, why weren’t you fast enough, you could’ve saved us, you could’ve saved us if you’d just been better-_

His hands shake. The kettle jerks, and Lance gasps as he spills hot water down the side of the cup and all over the table. 

_Get a grip, get a grip, get a grip-_

_-why can’t I do anything right-_

_-why am I like this-_

Hands cover his, and Lance snaps back to himself as they gently still his trembling hands and steady the kettle, filling the cup. What he registers the most is that Keith is practically pressed against his side and that his hands feel warm on top of his through his gloves. 

Once the cup is full with water, Keith helps him set the kettle back down on a dry space on the table and their hands break apart. Only then does he realize how close they are, with barely a few centimeters between them. 

They quickly jump apart, and Keith hurries back to his spot across the table while Lance moves to clean up the spilled hot water with a kitchen towel, careful not to let it touch his skin. 

After cleaning up the mess, Lance sits down across from Keith, shame burning across his skin. What is Keith thinking right now, after seeing Lance trip up and mess something as simple as making tea up? “You must think I’m pretty pathetic, huh? Too...too restless to fall asleep, too jittery to do anything without making a mess?” he asks. 

“What? No, I don’t.” 

“You don’t?” 

“No...it’s…” Keith sighs, pauses, then says, “Look, it’s obvious that you...you’re hurting. You can’t sleep, and it’s clearly an issue for you. I can’t blame you for that, okay? Everyone has their problems. So...just stop fretting over how people see you and focus on getting better and dealing with your problems, okay?” 

The fact that Keith doesn’t blame him, and instead seems to worry about him having nightmares, does something strange to Lance’s heart. “I...thanks. I mean it.” 

For some reason, Keith manages to drag secrets out of Lance that he hasn’t told the rest of the team. As the night wears on, Keith learns that Lance has nightmares and can’t sleep because of them, and surprisingly, he tries to help and tells him to go to others for help if nothing works. 

It’s really nice to have someone watching his back like this. 

* * *

_But you’re a king and I’m a lionheart_

_A lionheart_

* * *

“I’m part-Galra.” 

Keith braces for scalding words, for his team to accuse him of whatever crimes the Galra Empire have done, for his team to accuse him of disloyalty. When he came back from the Blade of Marmora base with Shiro and two Blade members, he knew that he would be adding another surprise, this one not entirely pleasant, to the already large heap of surprises on their hands. 

But no one says anything. There’s only silence. 

“Keith…” Shiro begins, only to trail off. 

“How can you be so sure?” Pidge asks, finally breaking that awful silence emanating from his team. 

He offers a visual explanation, because he can’t find the words to explain anything at the moment. He reaches behind him and pulls out his knife sheathed at his back, now free of its wrappings and with the sigil on its hilt on full display. “This was given to me as a kid,” he says. 

There’s another long, uncomfortable silence. Keith bows his head and looks down, feeling the eyes of everyone on his team on him and not wanting to see what expressions they’re wearing. 

“And so what?” 

Keith jerks his head up in surprise, because he never expected Lance, of all people, to defend him like this. 

Lance’s eyes burn with something intense and his face is set like stone, a far cry from the bright, cocky, or cheerful expressions he wears when they’re training or just gathered together on the ship. And then, he is reminded of the nights in the castle kitchen, where they laughed and talked and fell asleep, where they both lowered their barricades and got to know each other. 

“Keith has proved himself as part of this team,” Lance continues. “Loyalty isn’t defined by where you come from, it’s defined by what you do.” 

“And how can you so be sure that his actions were sincere?” Allura’s voice is flat, and Keith almost prefers to have her scream at him. Her face is unreadable. 

“We were cornered by Zarkon so many times. If Keith wanted to betray us, he could’ve done it then. And even so, he was in just as much danger as we were, and he fought alongside us to help us get out,” retorts Lance, growing heat in his voice. “The Red Lion chose him. Didn’t you always talk about how the Lions were meant to choose people worthy to pilot them? Red thinks Keith is worthy of being a Paladin, and so we’ll have to respect its choice.” 

There’s silence again. 

“Why, Lance?” Keith finds himself asking quietly. “Why would you defend me, when I’m descended from the enemy?” 

He whips around to face him. “It’s already been proven that the Galra aren’t the enemy, Zarkon is. Keith.” His voice quiets, and Keith has to almost strain his ears to catch what Lance says next. “You’re part of this family. I have no reason to hate you just because you’re not human.” 

* * *

_His crown lit up the way as we moved slowly_

_Pass the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind_

* * *

_You’re part of this family._

“This family” is now torn apart. Shiro is gone, and they’re all grieving. 

And Keith is the one who took his disappearance the hardest. 

But even so, the Galra Empire doesn’t rest, and they need to continue the fight. They need a new Black Paladin. That’s why they’re all gathered in the Black Lion’s hangar, trying out the Black Lion one by one. 

Every muscle in Lance’s body is tense as he watches Keith mount the ramp into the Black Lion’s mouth. The rest of the remaining team is gathered beside him, and they all watch. They all see the Black Lion’s eyes light, and that’s when they all know that a new leader has been chosen. 

The Black Lion’s mouth opens, and Keith steps out, heading down the ramp. Something in Lance twists at the flat, resigned expression on Keith’s face. He’s always known Keith to be a fighter, and this expression of defeat and sorrow doesn’t belong on his face. It looks so _wrong_ on him, damping down the fire he’s seen burning in his eyes. 

“Well then,” Allura murmurs, “we have our new Black Paladin.” 

“No!” Keith’s voice breaks on that single syllable. “I’m not him! I can’t be the leader you deserve!” 

“Hey...Keith...listen,” Lance finds himself saying as he moves forward, towards Keith. He doesn’t know why he’s saying this, but he hates seeing Keith look so defeated. “Look, you’re not the only one hurting. We all lost someone when Shiro disappeared. But either way, we need to continue fighting because the Galra Empire is still out there, and Shiro would want us to. The Black Lion chose Shiro as its Paladin, and then it chose you. We all respected its choice when it chose Shiro, and now, we’re respecting its choice to choose you. We respect its choice. And so should you.” 

For the first time since exiting the Black Lion, Keith looks up, and his eyes meet Lance’s. 

There’s really nothing else to be said. Behind him, Lance can feel the others moving around. But Lance doesn’t want to leave Keith’s side at the moment. Not when he’s like this. 

He moves closer to Keith, and rests a hand on his shoulder. The small space between them feels charged with electricity. 

“Keith, we need a leader,” he murmurs. “And the best person for the job is you. We need you now. And I hate to ask something like this from you, but you need to be strong.” 

Keith says nothing, and he looks down. 

“I know this is hard,” Lance continues, “but you’re needed. Keith.” And now his throat is choking up. When did he get this sappy? “Be brave.” 

* * *

Lotor’s ship is _so close_. Keith urges the Black Lion faster and faster, ignoring the cries from his team to stop from his comms. He’s not going to give up. He’ll take Lotor down now, even if it means having to leave his team behind. Their voices ring, a cacophony of background noise that he tries his best to ignore. 

“Keith! We need to stop!” Lance’s voice cuts through the others’ and Keith grits his teeth at the obvious panic in his voice. “Keith! You’re splitting up the team!” 

Lance sounds so _scared_. 

“ **Keith! Stop this!** ” 

Keith roars in frustration and veers the Lion around, turning back for the others. 

* * *

_Though far away, though far away, though far away_

_We’re still the same, we’re still the same, we’re still the same_

* * *

Most of their planning was done by Shiro and Allura, sometimes with the help of Coran as well. But with Shiro gone, their current leader has to make plans with the help of the Alteans. 

“Why do you want me to help you with making plans and navigation? Aren’t you better suited to that, anyway?” Lance asks Keith as they walk to the bridge. 

“I want your input. I’m not as skilled as Shiro in things like these, and I want a second opinion,” Keith answers, and when Lance searches his tone for any mocking or sarcasm, he finds none. Keith honestly means it, it seems. 

The doors to the bridge slide open, and they walk in to find Allura and Coran already gathered around the large holographic map in the center of the bridge. 

Allura launches into an explanation of the Galra bases that they’ve attacked over the course of the last couple weeks, and the ones they still have to hit. It feels strange, to be standing in the place where the higher-ups made decisions and war plans. It’s...intimidating. The room feels...cold, almost. 

So Lance clings to the warmest thing in the room and what he’s most familiar with in this place. 

If anyone notices that he’s standing closer to Keith than needed, they don’t comment on it. 

* * *

Fighting on foot is obviously very different from piloting a Lion. When piloting a Lion, attacks are made from a distance and there’s a buffer of a thick layer of metal and a large amount of space between him and the enemy. When fighting on foot, everything is close up and personal, and Keith can clearly see the sentries he cuts down with his bayard. If he had to pick, he’d prefer piloting a ship over fighting on foot. 

But sometimes, they don’t have a choice. In order to collect the data stored in the Galra bases, they have to make their way in on foot and collect the data from the computers themselves. 

“I’m going for it! Cover me!” Pidge yells over the comms as she runs to the locked door and pries off the cover of the control panel next to it. 

Keith whips around to face the closed door behind them, the only other entrance to the large antechamber they’re in, Hunk and Allura on either side of him. Lance is somewhere above them, trying to gain a vantage point where he can shoot from. 

Something bangs on the barricaded door, and Keith tenses. The doors are soon pried open and sentries pour into the room. They only have a few seconds before they crash into them like a tidal wave. 

The fighting is fierce, and Keith doesn’t know for how long exactly that it goes on. “Pidge! Is the door open yet!?” he yells. 

“Almost there! I just need a few more minutes!” comes the reply. 

Keith growls, and cleanly cleaves another sentry in half. All three of them are surrounded now, and it’s all they can do to keep the sentries from reaching Pidge in their growing exhaustion and the sheer number of enemies. 

A heavy blow lands across his back, and he’s thrown to the floor, his bayard clattering out of his reach. He looks up to find himself staring into a sentry’s gun barrel as it prepares to fire. 

“Keith!” someone yells. 

The sentry then collapses before it can land the killing blow, and Keith manages to roll out of the way and snatch up his bayard. He turns to see Lance pointing his rifle in the direction of the fallen sentry, finger on the trigger of his rifle. He grins slightly, and Keith can’t help but offer a smile in return. 

That smile Lance is wearing spells so many things, but there’s one thing in particular that it shows. 

_I’ve got your back,_ he seems to say. _While I’m here, no one will touch you._

The swoop of heat somewhere in Keith’s chest probably has nothing to do with the exertion from fighting. 

* * *

_Howling ghost they reappear_

_In mountains that are stacked with fear_

* * *

The most interactions Lance has had with Keith over the course of their time as Paladins has mostly been limited to team exercises and Voltron missions. Of course, the time they’ve spent together has grown after Keith became the leader of Voltron and Lance became his right hand, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’ve mostly been together working in conjunction with the rest of the team. Even when they were alone together, they were gathered in the common room or the bridge, trying to formulate plans and strategies to take on their enemy. Everything is centered around fighting the enemy. 

That’s why standing alone in front of Keith’s door to his room, about to discuss something so personal, feels so awkward. But he might as well get this out sooner than later, so he raises his hand and knocks on the door. 

“Come in!” Keith calls from inside the room. 

The doors open and Lance steps awkwardly into his room. “Lance,” he says, once he catches sight of him. 

“Hey, Keith,” Lance says, unsure of where to begin. “So, I’ve been doing some math, and I’ve realized that there are five Lions and six Paladins. That’s one Paladin too many for us all to be piloting Lions.” 

“Solid math.” 

“The thing is, we got Shiro back, so he might want to pilot the Black Lion again, so I thought you might want Red back. But I don’t want to go back to Blue by kicking Allura out. She’s advanced so far in such a short time, even faster than I have.” Lance pauses as he readies himself to say the words burning themselves in his head. 

“What exactly are you saying?” Keith asks. 

“This isn’t a participation game. This is war, and in war, you want your best people on the field. So, I thought...that maybe...the best thing I can do for this team is to step down.” There. It’s all out. He waits nervously for Keith’s answer. 

“Lance...we don’t know anything for sure,” he answers after a short pause. “The Black Lion hasn’t responded to Shiro yet, and we still haven’t had time to rearrange roles yet. So the only thing I can say is: stop worrying. Things will work themselves out. The best thing you can do is continue piloting Red and we’ll work from there.” 

“Thanks, Keith,” Lance says, and he turns to leave, the worry brewing in his mind since they recovered Shiro stilling slightly. As he does, he realizes that Keith more or less told Lance to stay on the team, no matter how much more useful the others are. And he feels the stir of _something_ inside him. 

“And Lance?” Keith calls, and he turns back to see what he has to say. “Leave the math to Pidge.” 

* * *

They’re angry with him. He’s supposed to be their leader, and yet he vanished on a Blade of Marmora mission and left them to fend for themselves with no Black Lion. 

But the ends justify the means. 

Shiro is once again the Black Lion’s pilot, and Keith has a spot in the Blade of Marmora. There are now five Lions, and five Paladins on board the Castle of Lions. 

“Keith, if this is what you want, we’ll support you,” Shiro says after Keith explained his reasons for leaving. That’s a relief. At least his brother understands. “You’re part of our family, and we’ll support you, no matter the choice, whether it’s to continue working for the Blade of Marmora or to discover who you are.” 

The entire team ends up getting sappy on him, and he ends up getting dragged into a large group hug. 

When the group breaks apart, he turns and heads for the exit of the ship’s bridge. But just before stepping outside, he looks back one more time. 

He told them that he left in order for Shiro to reestablish his connection with the Black Lion, and that he wants to learn who he truly is and how the Blades might help him with that. He wasn't lying. But there’s one other reason he’s leaving the team that he didn’t tell them. 

_You once told me that you wanted to step down, because there were too many Paladins and not enough Lions, and you thought it was best for the team. But it was more than that, wasn’t it? You were scared. You were scared that you weren’t good enough._

His eyes roam over his team - his family, now - and unerringly find Lance. 

_But now, with me gone, you won’t have to worry about that_. 

Lance offers a small smile and a wave, in stark contrast to the frustration and reproachfulness he wore earlier. 

_I’m leaving you with the responsibility of piloting the Red Lion. It’s a heavy role to play. So, I’ll hope that you’ll follow the advice you once gave me._

Keith smiles one last time, and turns to leave. 

_Be brave._

* * *

_But you’re a king and I’m a lionheart_

* * *

The drones whirr around him. He’s surrounded. 

Lance gasps in exertion and raises his shield with one hand to block the shots fired at him, while he uses his other hand to fire his bayard rifle. 

He’s training in his free time again. Ugh, he’s becoming more and more like Keith. 

Speaking of Keith, Lance feels the empty space he left behind more acutely than ever before. Hell, he misses him. He misses their stupid late-night tea sessions, he misses their jabs at each other, he misses having such a good fighter at his back. 

The nightmares have returned, and he’s followed Keith’s advice and went to ask their teammates for help. While talking about them helps, it’s not the same as talking to Keith. There’s something about Keith that he misses, something that was able to drag even his deepest secrets and his worst out of him, and lay it bare before him. And yet, Keith never judged him or blamed him for them. 

He throws himself to the side in order to narrowly dodge another attack fired at him by the drones. Maybe it was a mistake to try and attempt a training level this difficult. If it were Keith fighting in his place, he’d surely have no trouble, based on what Lance has seen from their training sessions. 

So what would Keith do, in this situation? 

Probably just run at them, hacking with his blade. Might be simple, but it worked. 

The moment that thought takes form in Lance’s head, his bayard begins to glow. He watches in surprise as it changes form, elongating. When the light fades, he’s left staring at a broadsword that’s not unlike Keith’s. 

Lance swallows heavily. Everything at the moment reminds him of Keith, from the fact that he’s training in his free time to the whir of the training drones to the heavy broadsword in his hand. Keith, who chose to leave them and instead find his own path. Lance thought that they had gotten closer in the time that they had become Paladins, that the uncrossable distance between them at the Garrison was smaller, but now, he’s aware of just how far they are from each other. That distance has returned, and he has no way to bridge the gap like he did before. 

He’s brought back to the present when a shot to his side forces him to duck out of the way. He glances down at the weapon in his hand, then to the drones circling him. 

Well, there’s only one thing to do. Lance darts forward and swings his sword out in an arc, cleanly slicing the drones in front of him into pieces. 

* * *

The small rock that he lands on sways beneath him, and he almost loses his balance, tipping to the side. Krolia grabs his hand before he can fall off, and pulls him onto a larger, more stable asteroid. 

The Quantum Abyss is treacherous, and it’s all Keith can do to try and ignore the flashes of energy showing him glimpses of the past and future, and focus on keeping his footing steady. 

They’ve been going at this for so long that it barely takes any verbal communication for them to tell that there’s another wave coming at him. Keith crouches on the asteroid he’s on, gripping at the rough stone, and clenches his eyes shut as the wave hits. 

This time, he’s shown a glimpse of the future, it seems. Because he can’t ever remember a scene like this from his past. 

_Lance smiles at him underneath the branches of the large tree, the dusky light making the blue glow around them all the more prominent. They’re standing closer than Keith expected - where did all that space between them earlier that evening go?_

He shakes his head to clear that image away from his head. His confusion won’t do him any good here. 

They eventually make their way onto the back of a large whale-like creature cruising through the Abyss. When him and Krolia make their way across the creature’s back, mapping out the land, making camp, and acquiring a space wolf in the process, Keith expects them to be there on the whale’s back for maybe about a few weeks. 

Not two years. 

As the months pass, Keith busies himself with the manual work that needs to be done around their camp. And as the years pass, he can feel the memories of the other Paladins grow fuzzier and fuzzier. 

That scares him more than anything else in the Abyss. 

_I’ll see you all again_ , he vows. _Because I won’t let my family slip away from me a second time._

Family. The thought makes him smile. The people that he’s worked with and lived with on the Castle of Lions are his family. 

Before he left Earth, he would never have dared to call his teammates family. But that’s changed. And when he tries to recall the reason for that change, the blurry images his brain recalls are of him standing in front of the team in the Castle of Lions, Lance positioned between him and the rest of the team as he vehemently claimed Keith as part of their family. 

* * *

Out of everything Lance has seen since becoming a Paladin, this might be one of the strangest. 

Everyone’s gathered in the ship’s docking bay, with Keith, who has returned from whatever mission he was on and looks older than when he left, a Galran who is apparently his mother, a living Altean other than Allura or Coran, and a blue space wolf. 

It’s a lot to take in. At this point, Lance doesn’t even know what to feel. 

“We need to stop Lotor,” is the first thing Keith says. 

“Keith, we’re all glad that you’re back,” Shiro says, “but you need to explain everything that’s happened. We have no idea what’s going on right now.” 

“We’ll explain on the bridge,” Keith says. 

“Very well. Shall we go up?” Allura asks, and after a general agreement, everyone turns to head to the bridge. 

Lance hangs at the back of the group, still stunned after what he had seen in the docking bay. He startles when Keith places a hand on his shoulder and murmurs, “Hey. I’ve missed you.” 

“I’ve...I missed you too,” Lance answers. 

Keith smiles, and it looks strange, because it’s still Keith and yet it’s not, because he’s so different since he left. He turns to run further ahead to talk to Shiro and yeah, Lance isn’t imagining it. 

His heart is definitely beating faster than normal. 

* * *

_And in the sea that’s painted black_

_Creatures lurk below the deck_

* * *

Voltron files toward the wormhole as it begins to close. Keith growls in frustration. They’re not going to make it, and Shiro will be lost to whatever forces there are on the other side of the wormhole. 

“Separate back into Lions!” Keith orders through his comms. “The residual force from the separation will give me enough of a boost to get through the wormhole!” 

“But we’ll be left behind! You’ll have to deal with whatever’s on the other side yourself!” Hunk protests. 

“We don’t have a choice! Separate, or we won’t have time!” Keith snaps. 

“Do as he says!” Lance yells, and Keith’s eyes widen in surprise. “Keith, I know how important Shiro is to you, and I know that this is the only choice we have,” he explains, voice low. “I trust that you’ll know what to do when you get there.” 

If someone had told him when they first left Earth that Lance would one day end up supporting him, he would’ve told them that they were insane. But now, Lance is telling the others to follow Keith’s orders, and for some strange reason, Keith is less surprised than he expected. 

Nonetheless, Voltron separates into Lions, and Keith flies toward the wormhole. 

* * *

_But you’re a king and I’m a lionheart_

* * *

Lance looks back over his shoulder at Keith, standing hunched beside Shiro’s cryo-pod as if he were standing at his deathbed, tension prevalent in every line of his body. He grits his teeth. The image reminds him too much of when they thought Shiro was gone, and needed to choose a new leader. It reminds him too much of the resigned, defeated expression on Keith’s face, all signs of fight drained from him. 

The others are gathered by the doors, ready to leave for the material Coran said would help power the Lion’s energy supplies, but Lance heads back. 

“Keith. He’ll be okay,” he says softly, stopping behind Keith to rest a hand on his shoulder. “You did all that you could. We can only wait now.” 

“I hate this. I hate not being able to do anything but wait,” Keith mutters. 

“But we don’t have a choice,” Lance says in what he hopes is a soothing tone. Keith seems to relax somewhat, so maybe it was? “The only thing we can do now to work on what there is to be done, and wait on the things where there’s nothing to be done.” 

Lance lets his hand fall off Keith’s shoulder, and turns to join the others waiting by the doors. He raises an eyebrow at their expressions, ranging from confused but happy (Hunk and Romelle), fond (Coran), and fond but slightly exasperated (Pidge). 

“Hey, Lance?” Keith asks, and Lance pauses and turns around. “Thanks.” 

* * *

Keith hates this feeling. He hates this feeling of being backed against a wall, an enemy that he doesn’t have a way to fight looming in front of him. Sure, the rest of his team is with him, but they also have no way to fight back. They’re all locked together in a cell on board a Galra ship. 

He’s been answering Lotor’s former generals’ questions to the best of his ability, but they’re still not satisfied. 

“Well, I guess it’s time to apply pressure,” one of them says. “Bet that the team has a soft spot for the small one.” The other strides towards Pidge and Keith can feel a protest building in his throat, but Lance gets there first. 

“Don’t you touch her!” he yells, throwing himself between them. 

Keith’s heart pounds when Lance is thrown to the floor by the Galra general and then is hauled upright. 

“Eh, this one’ll do,” the general holding him says, and she produces a knife, pressing it against the side of his face. “Hm, where should I carve first?” 

Something in Keith snaps and he lunges forward, yelling, “Let him go!” 

A blow across his side throws him to the floor. The other general steps forward and grabs his shoulder, pulling him up and holding him still only a few feet away in front of Lance. 

“Wrong answer.” 

A hand clamps around Keith’s chin and forces him to look up as the knife digs against Lance’s face. A thin trail of blood runs down Lance’s head and it feels like his heart is squeezing itself to death when Keith catches sight of the pained look on his face, as if he’s holding a cry of pain back. 

“Oho, it seems like we’ve got something here. Now answer me, where is Lotor?” 

Keith snarls wordlessly in anger and fear and the fierce protectiveness that flares in him. 

Alarms blare through the ship, sparing them from further agony. When the generals let them go, Lance leans, trembling, against Keith’s side, and Keith supports him. 

* * *

_And as the world comes to an end_

_I’ll be here to hold your hand_

* * *

The space road trip home isn’t very exciting, but then again, Lance doesn’t know what he expected. Their days are filled with long hours of piloting their Lions in formation, waiting for their energy stores to refill. 

Only now, has Lance really appreciated the castleship with its wormholing abilities and its bright, spacious living quarters. While the Lions are nice and all, their interior is dark, lit mostly by the dim coloured lighting from the cockpit and the lighting panels from the cargo holds, and they spend all of their hours either piloting in the cockpit or just hanging around in the cargo hold, which have been transformed into living spaces of sorts. The Lions are meant to be war machines, not living spaces. 

The Paladins also don’t have physical contact with each other. The only way of communication is by their comms, and the only way to transport supplies from Lion to Lion are by Keith’s teleporting space wolf, who they dubbed “Kosmo”. 

Sometimes, passengers move from Lion to Lion with Kosmo’s help, but Paladins stay in their Lions. That’s why one night where Lance is alone in the Red Lion, he’s taken by surprise when he’s shaken awake from a nightmare and to hear Keith mutter, “Wake up, Lance, it’s just a bad dream.” 

“Wh-Keith?” Lance gasps out, eyes straining to make out Keith’s face in the cargo hold’s dim lighting. “What - how did you even get in here?” 

Keith jerks his head towards his wolf, who is sitting on the floor next to Lance’s bed. “He woke me up and barked at me until I took hold of his mane, then took me here.”

“You little tattletale,” Lance says, trying for a light laugh. It comes out shaky and small. He sits up and drags the heels of his hands over his face, hoping to wipe away any trace of tears on his face. Turning to Keith, he asks, “But who’s watching the Black Lion?” 

“Shiro is, don’t worry.” Keith sits down on the edge of Lance’s bed, and the two of them are closer in proximity to each other than Lance can remember. 

And he finds that he doesn’t mind it. In fact, he actually likes it. 

Like how they used to sit at the castle kitchen, drink tea, and chat until either morning came or they fell asleep, they sit across from each other on Lance’s bed and talk. They both end up falling asleep there, and the next morning, Lance wakes tangled in limbs and a blanket, lying on his back with Keith lying half on top of him, still asleep. 

* * *

“You’re getting better,” Keith says as he watches Lance smoothly step into a new position, holding his new broadsword out in front of him. The two of them are currently gathered in the Black Lion’s cargo hold, with Romelle watching the Red Lion. Kosmo is seated a few feet away from Keith, ready to teleport Lance back to the Red Lion should a problem arise. 

“Really?” And maybe several months ago, Lance would have snarked at Keith for something or other, but now, he simply stands up to face him and lets his bayard drop to his side. 

Keith nods, and holds his bayard out in front of him, letting it turn into the sword that’s so familiar to him. Lance seems confused when Keith steps into the cleared out ring in the cargo hold that they’ve been using for training. 

“Spar with me?” Keith asks. He’s interested to see what a sword fight with Lance will be like. 

He nods, and takes his position across from Keith. They circle each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Keith eventually gets bored of waiting and lunges at Lance with a board swipe. 

Lance deflects it and tries to stab at Keith’s shoulder, and Keith knocks away his blade and tries to slash at him again. He blocks it and shoves Keith back. 

They dance around each other for a while, neither really gaining ground on the other. 

_You’re not bad_ , Keith idly thinks, and begins pressing forward. His attacks and blocks begin to speed up, until Lance has trouble keeping up with him. 

By mistake, Lance’s sword arm drifts too far to the side of his body, and Keith sees his opening. He darts forward and lands a heavy blow at the side of Lance’s wrist, forcing him to drop his blade. He doesn’t realize just how close they’ve gotten to the wall until he grabs Lance and pins him to the wall with his blade at Lance’s throat. 

Something burns in Keith’s chest, a mix of pride and triumph and _something else_ , and he can’t help but let a smirk curve his lips as he says, “I win.” 

Lance freezes beneath him. 

* * *

_‘Cause you’re my king and I’m your lionheart_

* * *

Neither of them know when it starts. They can only guess. But this time, they know something’s there. 

* * *

_A lionheart, a lionheart, a lionheart, a lionheart_

* * *

For Lance, it starts somewhere on their journey home. He’s missed Keith when he was gone, and now that he’s back, that strange feeling he’s had when they were working together before Keith left has returned full force. Maybe it’s watching Keith fight off the druid on the ruined planet, maybe it’s sparring with him in their Lions’ cargo holds, maybe it’s the two of them sitting on the same bed in the darkness as they chat. But only after arriving on Earth, when Keith comes up to him alone to wish him well on their separate quests to take on Sendak’s strongholds, does he truly recognize what the strange feeling in his chest is. 

* * *

_A lionheart, a lionheart, a lionheart, a lionheart_

* * *

For Keith, it starts probably with their arrival on Earth. During the two years that he’s been gone, he’s been clinging to his fading memories of his team, missing them like a persistent ache in his chest. He’s missed Lance, so on their way home, he takes the time to talk to Lance in the quiet moments on their journey where nothing’s going on. When they arrive on Earth and make their way through the ruined cities with Keith leading them, he can’t be more grateful for Lance guarding his back. And as he screams Lance’s name into the comms, trying to tell if Lance is still alive after the blast he heard over the comms and trying to tell if the Red Lion came for him yet, he realizes that he feels something for him other than their friendship. 

* * *

_Howling ghost they reappear_

_In mountains that are stacked with fear_

* * *

“You need to do something and ask Keith out now, because we’re leaving tomorrow,” Hunk says, as if Lance doesn’t know already. 

Over the last several months since they arrived on Earth and successfully thwarted Sendak’s attack, Lance has found ways to complain about his crush to Hunk (and no one else, because he wants to keep it something of a secret). Of course, Hunk was always nothing but supportive. 

“Ugh, I know that, but I don’t know how to!” he replies. 

“Just ask him out to dinner or something,” Hunk responds. “Aren’t you having your last dinner on Earth with your family or something? Invite him there.” 

The conversation goes in circles for several minutes. After Hunk is called away for some business or other, Lance heads out into the hallway, still with no idea of what to do. 

Lost in thought, he crashes into Coran, literally. 

“Ah! Coran, I’m sorry,” he says, but Coran waves him off. 

“No need to apologize, Lance. Here, I was wondering if I could talk to you,” Coran says, and drags Lance off with him without further preamble. 

As Lance manages to right himself and keep pace beside him, Coran says, “I heard that you had problems with your love life?” 

Is no secret sacred here? Or was he just that obvious? Deciding that it’s pointless to hide or argue, Lance mutters, “Yeah.” 

“Lad, let me tell you something,” Coran says quietly, oddly somber. “I know you’re afraid. But remember, we’re heading out to face one of the greatest threats this universe has faced. We could die on this mission, and you don’t know what you could lose out there.” 

Lance pauses. He makes a good point. 

“I’d say, take this chance while you still have it,” he continues. “What’s more, we’ve faced so many threats over our time out in space, where we could die at any time. What’s one date compared to that?” 

Remembering that Coran lost his entire planet and civilization, Lance decides that maybe, Coran’s right. And Lance himself has survived countless battles for his life, piloting a warship into a battlefield. He surely can survive asking Keith out to dinner. 

“Thanks, Coran,” Lance murmurs. At Coran’s sad smile, he decides to add, “I know you’re sad, and I know you’re afraid of losing your teammates. So am I.” Coran looks up. “But in any case, we’re not going down without a fight.” After all, when had any of them stopped fighting when they were cornered? After all, isn’t that what Lance has always admired in Keith? 

Coran's smile looks slightly watery. “Ah, back to the problem at hand, though. I know that it can be scary, so I’ll tell you one last thing,” he says, and he stops in the empty hallway. Lance stops too to stand in front of him. “Be brave.” 

* * *

_But you’re a king and I’m a lionheart_

_And in the sea that’s painted black_

* * *

A wind blows gently, blowing his hair away from his face, and Keith leans back and tries to savour it. This will be their last evening on Earth for who knows how long. He ruffles Kosmo’s fur as he looks out at the sunset. 

A noise sounds behind him, and he jumps in surprise to see Lance clambering on top of the Black Lion’s head. “Man, you sure can be hard to find when you want to be,” he says, moving to sit beside Keith. “You watching the sunset?” 

“Yeah,” Keith answers. “Who knows when I’ll get the chance to see another one.” 

Lance hums, and turns to face the sunset. In the following silence, Keith is suddenly aware of every inch of space between them and of the heat simmering in that small space. He wants to lean closer and bridge that gap, but he doesn't move. 

“So...you don’t have any other plans?” Lance asks, breaking the silence. 

“No, not really,” Keith answers. “Krolia and Kolivan are out on another Blade mission, and Shiro’s caught up in some Garrison business, so I’m just planning on doing my own stuff.” 

“You know...um...if you really don’t have anywhere to go...er...you could come to dinner with me and my family? We’re having this one last meal before heading out tomorrow, so...you can come too?” Lance asks quietly. 

“Wh-really?” And Keith hasn’t planned for this, and _oh god does this count for a date is he asking me out on a date?_

“Yeah. Uh, why would I ask if I didn’t mean it?” Lance looks away, and Keith thinks he can see a faint blush on his face. 

“Oh...um...when is it?” he asks. 

“An hour from now. Um, are you coming? You can bring Kosmo too, I’m sure we can find something to feed him.” 

“Yeah, I’ll come.” Keith has no idea what he’s getting into, but it’s their last day before the launch and he might as well, right? And he also gets to spend time with his crush, which may be good or bad, depending on the situation. 

“Great!” Lance stands up. “Wear something nice, I’ll-I’ll see you then!” 

“Yeah, see you then,” Keith says, slightly dazed. 

As Lance makes his way off the Lion’s head, Keith pinches himself to make sure he’s not dreaming. It hurts, so it means that it’s real. 

* * *

_Creatures lurk below the deck_

_But you’re a king and I’m a lionheart_

* * *

When a knock sounds at their front door, Lance quickly makes his way downstairs to the front door. Sure enough, Mom is opening the door to invite Keith in. He almost chokes at the sight of Keith, wearing a formal buttoned shirt and with his hair tied up in a small ponytail. 

“Oh, hey, Keith,” Lance says, and suddenly talking to one of his teammates feels so awkward when it’s in the presence of his family. 

“Hey, Lance,” Keith says tightly, and steps in. The family members already gathered in the foyer with them jump and a couple scream when Kosmo appears out of nowhere, teleporting straight in front of Keith, who doesn’t even blink. 

“Oh, everyone, this is my friend Keith,” Lance says. Of course, they should already know him, being a famous Paladin of Voltron and all, but he needs something to break the awkwardness. He waves a hand at Kosmo, and says, “This is Kosmo, his space wolf.” 

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite,” Keith offers. “He might teleport around, but nothing else.” 

Once stilted pleasantries are exchanged, they’re led into the dining room, where the feast is laid out. Lance and Keith are directed into adjacent seats, and Kosmo heads off into the kitchen and stays there, probably given some raw meat or something. 

“So, big day tomorrow, huh?” Dad asks. “You’re launching off into outer space.” 

“Oh, yes,” Keith answers. 

“Yeah, we’re off to fight one of the greatest threats this universe has to offer, no big deal,” Veronica mutters from Lance’s other side. 

“So, I don’t believe we’ve been properly acquainted with the leader of the Voltron Paladins,” Mom says, turning the meal’s attention to Keith. 

“Oh, I’m not the real-” 

Lance cuts him off by lightly elbowing his side. When will Keith finally just accept that he’s a leader of Voltron, and a good one, too? “What he means to say is that he’s not the first leader of the Paladins,” he says instead. “It was first Shiro, the Black Paladin, and then Keith took his place when he wasn’t able to lead. We’ve had some switching leaders off and on as the situation needs.” 

“So it seems that life as a Paladin is quite interesting. What is it like?” Mom asks. 

“It is...quite interesting, as you say,” Keith offers. “Of course, defending the universe is a lot of pressure to handle. That’s why there are five Paladins. We’re a team.” 

Shiro would be proud to hear Keith say that, Lance thinks idly, as he adds, “A pretty close-knit one, too, I’d think. We’re practically family to each other now. Or, secondary family, in some cases. We support each other.” 

“And that is always important. Sometimes, family is the most important thing there is out in the universe. We look after each other.” Dad raises his glass into the air. “To family!” 

“To family!” everyone at the table choruses as they all raise their glasses in the air. 

Lance’s eyes flicker to Keith, holding his glass in the air, seated at his family dinner table, and he decides that he wouldn’t trade this for the world. Seeing Keith, who he knows was raised an orphan and only found family with Shiro and the rest of the Paladins, surrounded by light and laughter, ignites a warmth in Lance’s chest. 

* * *

_A lionheart, a lionheart, a lionheart, a lionheart_

* * *

After dinner, Lance had offered to go out for a walk, and Keith had gladly accepted. That’s why they’re wandering outside in the cool night air, taking in their surroundings, Kosmo bounding back and forth ahead of them. The scars from the damage of the Galra attack on Earth still show in the scorch marks on the ground, the ravaged terrain, and the damaged vegetation. 

“You know, this place used to be beautiful. Now, it’s all dead,” Lance murmurs in a hushed voice as they enter what seems to be a garden. Or rather, the remains of one. Burnt plants and dead trees loom around them, bare branches reaching to the sky. They stop in front of a large, dead tree, its bare branches forming a sort of canopy above their heads. 

Keith hums in response, not sure what other response would be adequate. Then, something catches his eye, and he looks to the side. 

“Not so dead,” he says, and points. Kosmo glows in the dim lighting, and the bluish light from his fur is enough to illuminate the vegetation around them. Lance follows the line of his hand to a few buds, poking out of the earth. 

Lance smiles slightly, and then they just stand side-by-side, not talking. There’s something peaceful and ethereal about standing silently in the remains of a scorched garden, lit only by the blue light of a cosmic wolf. 

“Lance, I’m scared,” Keith whispers, shattering the silence. He normally wouldn’t be admitting this, but seeing Lance’s family and spending the evening with him has touched something inside him. “I’m so scared that I’ll lose you, and that I’ll lose the rest of the only family I have - the Voltron team. And we’re leaving tomorrow, and-” 

A hand closes gently around his forearm, and Keith is forced to turn and look up into Lance’s eyes. Lance smiles at him underneath the branches of the large tree, the dusky light making the blue glow around them all the more prominent. They’re standing closer than Keith expected - where did all that space between them earlier that evening go? 

“Keith, I’m sure that we’ll all do our best to stay alive, even if only to see what this universe has to offer next,” Lance says softly. “And I know that I’ll try my best to stay alive. I have my family to come back to, after all. But there’s more.” The hand on his forearm slides down to take his hand. “I have you, and I know that I’ll try my best to come back to you.” 

Keith is aware of the little space between them. Lance is very close to him now, and his heart is hammering madly in his chest.

“Keith, I...I care about you,” Lance says, and Keith jolts in surprise. “I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I’ve liked you for a while now.” 

Everything is burning and everything is drowning, and Keith can hardly breathe. Lance, who’s had his back for more than a year at this point, _likes_ him. “I…” Keith tries to say, and stops. He’s always been better at actions than words, so he leans in, but hesitates. 

Their faces are so close. Keith should take that leap, but he...he doesn’t know how Lance will respond. 

Kosmo brushes against his back, nudging them even closer. 

“The space wolf has spoken, it seems,” Lance says, smiling, and they both lean in at the same time. 

The little distance still remaining between them vanishes. 

* * *

_A lionheart, a lionheart, a lionheart, a lionheart_

* * *

Neither of them knows when it starts. But they both know that this is one of their starts, and is only the beginning of many other things to come. 

And in the burnt, damaged garden lit only by the glow of a cosmic wolf, the promise of a hopeful future together is forged. 

**Author's Note:**

> If the parents feel kinda passive-aggressive during the dinner scene, I'm sorry. I didn't know how to write it so that they seemed friendlier. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
